Shower Pan Liners, and How To Information.

GET SHOWER PAN LINER INSTALLED RIGHT THE FIRST TIME,

by tile setter Randy Davis.

You get one chance to do it right or you can be sure that your shower will leak as soon

as the water builds up in the shower floor.

GET SHOWER PAN RIGHT, OR TORRENT WILL ENSUE

Author: Craig Loewe

The floor of a shower is called the shower pan, and the way you build it will affect

the rest of your life -- or at least the rest of your life in the same house with

the same shower. They either leak or they don't, and the latter is by far the better path.

When it comes to shower-pan design, pretty counts, but not as much as construction. A leaky pan will let water drip -- or pour -- into the space below it or around it. The first signs will be water stains on the ceiling below or on the walls nearby. The next sign will be pieces of ceiling dropping to the floor. With time, the floor framing that supports the shower will begin to rot. It's also likely to garner the attention of termites.

It may take years, but eventually you'll have to take out the shower and replace the framing. Better to get it right the first time.

If you're close to average, you are five times more likely to take a shower as you are to take a bath. Showers fit our lifestyles: quick and to the point. They are also green, typically using a third the amount of water that a tub bath uses. I set out on a quest for a shower for my rebuild. Option 1, 2 or 3.

Since I wanted to design something that had a little more smack than an assembly-line floor, and I had already moved a 2-inch waste pipe and had it protruding through the concrete slab in preparation for the new shower, I wasn't about to remove and redo.

The second option is to let the marble guys make a custom shower pan, which can fit virtually any opening and can come in a variety of colors. Custom pans also can have a built-in frictional base to prevent slipping and falls. The waste line can be at almost any location within the shower area.

The third alternative is to make your own. The design options are limitless, the drain can be virtually anywhere, and if you proceed with care, focus and a little direction, it will look great and be watertight.

We began with an area 32 by 60 inches. The walls were framed and covered with water-resistant green wallboard. If we were going to use tile as a wall covering, the choice would have been concrete backer board; since the plan was to cover the walls with man-made marble, regular gypsum board would have sufficed, but the green made me feel better.

A well-made shower pan is a combination of plumbing, mortar, tile and a flexible chlorinated polyethylene, or CPE, lining called a membrane. In the days before CPE, the liner was a thick lead pan made on site. The lead is gone, but the term "pan" remains.

The plumbing consists of a drain designed especially for shower pans. It has a flange that clamps to the membrane to prevent leaks, and weep holes that collect any water that works its way through the tile. The pan itself begins with a mortar bed that slopes toward the drain on the subfloor. The membrane sits on top of the mortar bed, and on top of that is another layer of mortar that, once dry, provides a sturdy base for the tile.

Getting the right look

Designers say that the tile for a shower floor should be as close in color as possible to the main floor, and preferably made by the same manufacturer. This will help, they say, to make the room appear larger.

If it isn't possible to match floor colors, then the tile should complement the wall tile. If the walls are perfectly white or bland, you can bring some designs or patterns into the floor. The tiles themselves should be 3 inches square or smaller.

Tile this size, combined with the grout joints, provides traction; they're also small enough to conform to the mortar bed. Because of the grout lines, you can even use a small shiny tile, but a textured or flat-finished tile will give you better traction.

If you're considering a stone floor, marble and granite are fine, as long as they are cut to 3-inch pieces. Of all the stone options, limestone is the easiest to work with and has the most traction. Either limestone or tumbled marble can be cut to any size to create a design.

The tile we chose was a button stone pattern made up of three sizes and four colors. The largest button was as big as a quarter and the smallest was about dime-size. They were mounted on a mesh sheet and were sold by the square foot, typically to be used in swimming pools.

Since I couldn't think of a harsher environment than a swimming pool, with all its chemicals and the abundance of direct sunlight, this tile would most certainly stand up under the onslaught of anti-dandruff shampoo and bar soap. The colors were in beige tones and would come close to matching the faux marble walls.

We finished the job with some darker brown epoxy grout for contrast and durability. Expensive, yes, but it won't mildew, and bleach won't change the color.

As I said earlier, pretty counts, but not as much as construction, and next week we'll address that in detail. Until then, measure twice and cut once. Good luck!

. . . . . . .

Craig Loewe can be reached at cloewehandyman@bellsouth.net.

Shower Pan Liners, Installing A Shower Pan Liner,

Installing The Ceramic Tile In A Shower.

All This On Video, and more,,,

How To Install Your Shower Pan Liner.

Questions To Ask.

Did I Install The Shower Line To The Drain?

Did I fold The Corners Right?

How High Do I Raise The Drain?

Did I punch A hole in the shower pan liner?

Can I glue 2 shower pans together?.

Get Answers To All These Questions And More

As I see it, three options are available for shower pans. The first, which most general contractors prefer, is the pre-formed fiberglass or acrylic pan that almost assures a leak-free installation

It has a cast-in drip edge to receive the tile backer board or faux marble and has a built-in taper that directs water to the drain. The con is that the waste pipe must line up precisely with the drain in the pan.

Shower Pan Liners And How To Information.